


after the death (we remain past last breath)

by Dusty_Skyes



Series: Land, Sea, and Sky [1]
Category: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: ??? - Freeform, Blood, Canon-Typical Violence, Champions kicking ass, Gen, I wrote this in an hour, Kinda AU?, how do I tag this?, spoilers?, um
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-24
Updated: 2017-03-24
Packaged: 2018-10-10 03:00:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,221
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10427649
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dusty_Skyes/pseuds/Dusty_Skyes
Summary: It begins when Revali wakes up. Because where one Champion goes, the others are sure to follow.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I literally wrote this in an hour. Title comes from the poem "The Puzzle of Death and Rebirth" by Varanasi Ramabrahmam.

      It begins when Revali wakes up.

      It begins when he comes to himself and realizes with a start that his mind is his own again. He shrieks in unbridled rage, sight bleeding red, and rips his consciousness away from Windblight Ganon, fury bubbling in his very bones. Somehow he solidifies himself enough to draw his bow, hooks bomb arrows that he should not have into the string, draws arrow after arrow after arrow, and proceeds to riddle the beast with explosions. It's immensely satisfying to make it fall to Vah Medoh's surface, and he nails it again, laughing almost hysterically as the explosions gouge holes into the surface of the Divine Beast.

      When he runs out of arrows, Revali carelessly discards his bow onto the ground and launches forward, iron-tipped wings slicing through whatever flesh he can reach. If Windblight Ganon takes to the sky, so does he, chasing after in a fury-induced haze of _hatepainangerfury_. He wings upwards, dodges mid-air, and twists, whirling around in a deadly dance of metal and feathers and Windblight Ganon bellows at him.

      Revali doesn't care. He ducks again, snatches an arrow from the ground and uses it like a dagger, jamming it in between the beast's ribs. He will have his revenge.

It only ends when he lands, the corpse of what used to be his killer lying around the area in pieces before they vanish in white-purple smoke. Revali snarls furiously, still running on _hatehatehatepainangerrage_ , and narrows his gaze on the main terminal of Vah Medoh. It oozes orange, Calamity Ganon's corruption seeping from within, and he can't fix it. It requires blood that he no longer has, can no longer bleed. There is no blood running in his veins. Not anymore.

      Still, he carefully picks his way over, stepping around the craters from his bomb arrows, and stands in front of it, scowling darkly. Orange flickers in front of him, casting a glow across his form that makes him feel somewhat ill just to be in its presence. A low curse escapes his beak, spoken in the old tongue of the Rito, and Revali bends to examine the console, freezing about halfway there when searing pain bubbles up in his side, daggers prickling beneath the skin. His wing-tips automatically go to the flesh surrounding his ribs.

      It's wet, he realizes with a faint sense of dawning horror and amazement, and Revali slowly pulls his hand away to see that it's stained red. Apparently Windblight Ganon had managed to catch him with an attack and he's _bleeding_. _He's bleeding blood that only mortals have._

      Slowly, oh so slowly, Revali tries to not panic and places his bloody hand on the main terminal of Vah Medoh, watching with disbelief as it lights up. **Main terminal online** it blinks, the words crossing the screen in neon-colored letters.

      Outside, the corrupted orange streaks that line Vah Medoh's great, winged form; slowly, they turn blue.

(It begins when Revali wakes up. Because where one Champion goes, the others are sure to follow.)

**oOo**

      It continues when Mipha wakes up. Aside from Waterblight Ganon's overwhelming mind, there's the faintest sense of _RevaliRevaliRevali_ in one corner again and she jerks. Waterblight Ganon startles and she screams, tearing viciously at the beast with all the strength she can muster. Her trident forms; she shouldn't have it but she _does_ , and her hands snaps forward, sharp metal slicing through the thing that once ended her life.

      Waterblight Ganon recoils away, leaping across the top of Vah Ruta, and Mipha follows, form solidifying as she rams her weapon into it again and again and again. The beast's power rises up, water following its call, but she smacks it away, too furious to even think straight; too furious to think of anything but revenge. A step to the side, a dodge of ice, and Mipha slides underneath its guard, trident coming up in an attempt to tear open Waterblight Ganon's ribs. It dodges, not by much, but just enough to avoid being caught with a fatal wound, but it's still satisfying to see the trickle of blood that begins seeping from the cut.

      As a healer, Mipha knows all the places to make someone feel nothing but pain, but right now she doesn't care. All she wants to do is end Waterblight Ganon. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she remembers her little brother; Sidon would be grown now, wouldn't he? _She must protect her people._

      She screams again, trident slicing forward, and rams it into the neck of Waterblight Ganon, then jerks it backwards in a move that rips out its throat.

      Mipha stops only when the thing explodes into a mist of blue-purple light; the remaining sound is her heavy breathing echoing in the little corners of the Divine Beast. The little corner of her mind that is _RevaliRevaliRevali_ shifts, wiggling upwards until her attention is focused on it. _'What?'_ Mipha asks, reveling in the fact that she can sense him again. For so long it's just been her; her and Waterblight Ganon and _painangerhaterage_ that she drowns in.

      A moment, a heartbeat, a breath, and the little spot gives her the faintest image of a bloody, winged hand on the main terminal of Vah Medoh followed moments after by the urge to do the same with Vah Ruta. She sighs and mentally points out that, _'We're kind of dead, Revali. We can't bleed.'_ The spot shoves disappointment at her, then the feeling of a lack of trust, and finally the request that she stab her hand on her trident.

      Mipha grumbles a little but acquiesces, not expecting anything to happen when she jabs one of the sharp tips of her weapon into the palm of her hand. Therefore, it's a complete surprise when pain _sears_ up her arm and she drops the trident with a curse, _red blood_ spilling out over her flesh. Revali pushes the need to place her hand on the main terminal at her again, and this time she doesn't hesitate, slamming her palm down into the indentation so hard that the force vibrates up her arm and she has to grit her teeth at the pain.

**Main terminal activated** the screen tells her and she can't contain her gasp at the sight of the corrupted orange of Vah Ruta returning to a shimmering blue.

(She begins laughing, and if it touches on the edge of hysterical, Revali is kind enough to not mention it.)

**oOo**

      It jumps even further when Urbosa wakes up. Her mind slithers towards the light, Thunderblight Ganon still swallows her whole, her consciousness struggles to reach it, but she's _awake_ and that is all that matters. _RevaliRevaliRevali_ shifts in one corner of her mind, _MiphaMiphaMipha_ in the other, and they both reach out in her direction. She still can't sense _DarukDarukDaruk_ and her fury bubbles in her bones, rips its way through her chest and into her vocal cords until she can't take it anymore and _howls_. Anger spills from her lips and she lunges forward, ripping and tearing at the beast that brought about her end. Her body slowly solidifies, her scimitar materializes and the curved blade cuts deep as she tears at any available flesh that Thunderblight Ganon has.

      This is her revenge and she will see it through to the end.

_Angerhatepainragedespairloss_ burns through her, hot like the wind of a desert, and she howls in fury again and puts as much force as she can into her next blow.

      Thunderblight Ganon staggers back, roaring in pain and throwing its own lightning at her, and she dodges, flickers around it with a leap, and darts forward in an attempt to take the beast's head off. It roars at her again and she forms her shield, grips its side, and hurls it at Thunderblight Ganon in response; she laughs viciously when the beast is smacked in the chest, the sharp edges of the shield tearing open skin there.

      Another leap and she skids to the side, kicks off of the wall and lunges forward, scimitar coming down for a slash.

      But the beast moves, shifts its position, and Urbosa is both pleased and surprised when her blade promptly takes its head clean off. The two pieces separate, falling to the surface of Vah Naboris, and she steps on them, laughing. Just to be spiteful, she sticks the body with her scimitar, slicing its legs clean off only seconds before what remains of Thunderblight Ganon explodes into yellow-purple smoke.

      The tiny corner of her mind that belongs to _RevaliRevaliRevali_ shifts, inching forward until it has her attention. _MiphaMiphaMipha_ has no resolves and hurls herself forward, smashing Urbosa with all the projected feelings of a tackle-hug. She laughs, shoves her red hair out of her face, and turns towards the corrupted terminal, frowning a little at the sight of the orange glow. The sight of it alone makes her feel nauseous.

_Bleedbleedbleed_ , the _RevaliRevaliRevali_ part of her mind tells her, the faintest image of a winged hand on a terminal slinking through the link.

_Yesyesyes_ , the _MiphaMiphaMipha_ part agrees, Vah Ruta's own terminal lying underneath a red, finned hand.

_'We do not bleed,'_ she tells them with a roll of her eyes, _'for we are quite dead.'_

_MiphaMiphaMipha_ giggles at her and passes on the sensation of trusting them. _RevaliRevaliRevali_ agrees, smirking right back at her in that haughty way of his, and Urbosa growls. She cuts her hand open, marveling at the sight of the crimson liquid, smears the blood across her palm, and smacks it against the indentation of the terminal, deciding that, if this doesn't work, she'll just laugh at them later.

      But it does and she can't stop the gasp when **Main terminal activated** glides across the screen in front of her. Below her, the corrupted orange burns away, leaving only the familiar blue behind.

(Both _MiphaMiphaMipha_ and _RevaliRevaliRevali_ laugh at her; she tells them to shut up and then laughs with.)

**oOo**

      It ends when Daruk wakes up. His mind is sluggish, slow, but he can feel _RevaliRevaliRevali_ in one corner again, _MiphaMiphaMipha_ in another, and _UrbosaUrbosaUrbosa_ occupying the third once more. Fireblight Ganon tries to smash him down and fury bubbles in his chest and he _roars_ his hatred. He tears himself away, whirling around and bounding forward, body solidifying enough that his hammer flickers into view, and Daruk brings it down with a bellow. It smashes into the surface of Vah Rudania, leaving behind a crater the size of his head, and he jerks to the side, dodging a blast of fire Fireblight Ganon sends in his direction.

      A step, and he hurls the hammer with as much force as he can, smashing its head directly into the beast's stomach and sending it flying, and Daruk snatches it up and swings it high over his head. He bring sit down with another bellow, again and again and again, because this is the thing that killed him and he will get back at it for that. _Painhateangerrage_ bubbles up in his chest again and he spins, tilting the hammer so that it smashes into Fireblight Ganon's chest, sending the beast tumbling. One step to the side and Daruk brings it down again, the head smashing right through one of the beast's arms.

      Fireblight Ganon howls and he roars right back at it, batting its attempts at fireballs away and aiming another blow at its mask. This one misses, though not by much, and Daruk winds up settling the head of his hammer neatly into the beast's chest. There's the crunch of _something_ breaking and he laughs viciously, taking delight in beating his killer into the ground.

      He stops only once he's landed a direct connection to Fireblight Ganon's face, smashing the mask in, ruining whatever was beneath it, and killing the thing almost instantly. For a while, Daruk just stands there, leaning on his hammer and panting heavily, and only moves when the remains explode into reddish-purple smoke that vanishes slowly.

      In the back of his mind, _RevaliRevaliRevali_ shifts, welcoming him back in the smug way that only _RevaliRevaliRevali_ can and Daruk begins laughing. It's low, coming from somewhere deep inside of himself, and no one mentions the fact that it's a little on the hysterical side.

_UrbosaUrbosaUrbosa_ shoves at him a little, urging him to go to the main terminal, and he begrudgingly does so.

_'We're dead,'_ he informs the others flatly.

_Bloodbloodblood_. _Leglegleg_ , _MiphaMiphaMipha_ informs him, shoving an image of her hand on Vah Ruta's terminal in his direction. He humors her, and glances down. There, trickling from a wound on his thigh, is a thin stream of blood.

_'I'm bleeding,'_ he thinks, and there's a sense of awe and elation, because one has to be alive to bleed.

_RevaliRevaliRevali_ projects the sense of smugness in his direction, then pushes the urge to activate the terminal. Daruk does so, smearing his hand with the crimson life-blood, and placing it onto the main terminal for Vah Rudania.

      It beeps at him, **Main terminal activated** slinking across the screen in neon letters, and Daruk begins laughing again as the orange glow beneath his feet flickers into blue.

(All of them are awake now. All that's left is the Knight.

But the Knight never wakes up.)

 


End file.
